Katlin
by Imaganation
Summary: Katlin and Edward have a very awkward relationship, but I just can't figure them out. It seems that Ed and Al left their friend at home when she wanted to go with them. This takes place after the end of the anime Ed and Al managed to get home .
1. i Prologue

**Okay, we are go for story two!**

**These chapters should be longer than the one's for my other story, though the prologue and a few others aren't...**

**Thank you for choosing my story. Please review -- Criticism is welcome as I know I need to improve my work!  
**

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**i. Prologue**

It has been four years since they left, and four years since I last saw them.

I had wanted to go with them so much that a few years after they left the second time, I set out to find them, becoming a State Alchemist somewhere between the first six months and my Fifteenth birthday.

Never once did I set eyes on them, and I only ever came close by mere seconds.

Edward and Alphonse Elric had been, and probably always will be, my closest and most cherished friends, and even though Auntie and Winry had told me time and time again that they'd come back some day; I just could not wait that long.

It has been four years since they left, and four years since I last saw them, but now, standing in Cornel Roy Mustang's office, I am finally able to go home.


	2. 1 Early Leave

**So, here's the first chapter to tide you over. I'll probably update every four to ten days, but I havn't got far with this story so it might actually be longer ;P**

**I'm not one for summaries, so I'll just shut up now.  
**

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**1. Early Leave**

"You will be permitted three weeks leave this year…" The Cornel was telling me.

"Yes sir!" I saluted him before contradicting him, "But may I ask why, sir? My leave is not until two weeks time and a full six weeks long, sir."

He glared at me as though I was dumb,

"You do want to see them again, don't you?"

"S-sir?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion, pretending not to know what he was on about.

"They left three hours ago; Ed needs his arm fixing, then he wants Al to get and upgrade, so they went home for a week or so." He sighed in defeat.

"But sir! If you had told me before hand then I could have fixed them!" I half-shouted, surprising everyone in the room.

"Yes, but they do not even know you're here, Lieutenant!" Mustang also raised his voice slightly.

'Tch' "Bit late to tell me that, isn't it sir?" I averted my gaze and glared at the wall.

After thinking for a second I quickly composed myself, saluting him properly and clicking my heals,

"Sir! Request to take my full leave of duty early, starting today! Sir!"

I almost lost composure at the look of surprise on my commanders face, and I heard a few snickers behind me, probably from Havoc (though knowing him, he was probably laughing at me, not Cornel Mustang… Then again, he _could_ be laughing at _both_ of us…).

Mustang cleared his throat and stat a little straighter in his chair,

"Request granted soldier! Under the circumstance that you take up double shifts for the first three weeks when you return!"

"Understood sir!"

I quickly turned on my heal and strode out of the door, glaring at Lieutenant Havoc on the way past his desk.

As soon as the door was closed behind me, I cracked up into fits of laughter I was positive they could all hear in there.

'Ahem!' "What's so funny, Lieutenant?"

I looked up to see Ross standing in front of me. Her manor was so undermining that I was forced into an unnatural silence (I say unnatural because it takes quite a bit to shut me up).

"What was so funny, Lieutenant?!" She demanded, taking a step towards me.

I sighed and relaxed slightly, then smiled somewhat evilly at her,

"Mustang's face is such a picture sometimes!" I whispered to her.

I tried to walk away civilly, but was unable to hold it in much longer and collapsed in another fit of laughter three feet from my fellow Lieutenant.

"How can you always be so energetic?" Ross sighed, "It's just not normal you know."

I calmed down after a few seconds and stood to face her,

"It's called being nineteen, or are you so old now you've forgotten the feeling?" I joked.

"Why you…!" She screamed and I ran away down the corridor, laughing once again all the way to my room.

I lay on my bed for a moment before packing a bag and leaving for the train station, boarding a train to East Side.

After falling asleep and missing my stop, I had to walk for hours, until finally I passed into the countryside.

It wasn't long before I saw the lights of my old house, now occupied by a young couple.

I smiled at the memories as they all came flooding back, but stopped in my tracks as I looked to my right and saw the burnt remains of the Elric residence.

"I'm sorry Trisha; I couldn't keep my promise. I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect them as well as you'd wanted." I felt like crying as I spoke, but my tears had dried up ages ago, waiting for the day I'd finally be able to see them again.

I looked at my hands, tracing each seam in the blue tinted metal with my eyes.

On that day, the day Ed almost died, the day Al lost his body, I too lost something, three things, both of my arms, and a piece of my heart.

That day left me scarred, mentally and physically.

I could hardly sleep without seeing those eyes again.

I couldn't hold anything in my hands and feel its warmth.

I couldn't even remember the faces of some of my old friends.

I couldn't even remember the feel of Ed and Al's hands in my own as we ran home together to find Trisha collapsed on the kitchen floor.

I sighed and picked up my bag, continuing on my journey to the only home I had left.

The lights of a two story house came into view and more happy memories surfaced in my mind, making me grin from ear to ear.

I'd sent a letter the day before saying that my holiday was coming up soon, so I wasn't surprised when the door opened as soon as it did when I started running towards the house, yelling at the top of my lungs,

"Auntie! Winry! I'm back! I'm home!"

Auntie and Winry were stood at the door, and I soon found myself in a bear hug so tight I was unable to breath.

"Winry. Do you want her to live long enough to come inside, or are you going to try and suffocate her like usual?" Auntie asked with a sweat drop.

Winry dropped me and I sat on the porch, gasping for air and rubbing some of the feeling back into my arms.

"Sorry! It's just been so long since I last saw you!" She apologised.

"Auntie, who is it?"

A boy with long, braided blond hair and golden eyes stepped into view, followed by another that almost looked exactly the same, except he had short, light brown hair.

"Huh?" I looked at the second one, "Al?" I looked back at the first kid and frowned, "You're as short as ever, I see, Chibiske."

"Who're you to call me Chibi?!" He screamed, storming towards me.

"Relax, its only a joke Eddy, geez, I'm smaller than you remember? And it'd be an insult to Al as well as myself." I sighed, standing up.

"What do you mean? I don't even know you and you're calling me Eddy? No one's called me that in four years and she…" His eyes widened in shock as I scowled darkly and slapped him round the face.

"You idiot!" I screamed at him.

Auntie tutted and went back inside with Winry, leaving us to it.

"How can you not remember the one person that spent almost half her life by your side?!" I continued, "It's only been _four_ years Eddy! How can you forget the one person that loved you as much as your family did?! How could you forget the one person that stuck up for you when Al and Winry couldn't?!" I glared at him in pure anger before carrying on, "I've been working my ass off for Mustang, _just_ so I could be here to see _you_! _Four_ stupid years I've chased after the pair of you! And for what?! Nothing! That's what! Absolutely nothing!" I picked up my bag and shouldered it, "Well thanks for wasting four years of my life! Jerk!" I turned around, "now if you'll excuse me, Roy said to be back ASAP" I lied, before walking swiftly away from them, back towards the train station.

After a moment there was the sound of running footsteps behind me,

"Wait! Wait!" Ed shouted, "wait." He repeated, standing in front of me.

"Why should I Eddy? For the first few months I did nothing but cry and sulk because you hadn't taken me with you! I was worried sick about you! After becoming a State Alchemist I almost lost my title because I was chasing after you instead of doing my job! I was forced to stop and give up until I became a Lieutenant and had a bit more freedom! So why should I wait? Why should I wait to hear the excuses of a stupid _bastard _that can't even remember me?!" I was on the verge of tears, and I knew he could tell, but I hadn't cried in years, so I knew they'd never fall, "Just give me _one_ good reason not to go. If you can't, then I'll be on my way." I walked passed him.

"You've already upset Al! He doesn't like it when you shout, you know that!" He stood in front of me again, trying to block my path.

"It's not enough Eddy." I muttered, pushing passed him.

"Okay! Okay! I'm Jerk, I admit! But you love me, don't you?" Again he stood in front of me.

I paused, but shook my head,

"Still not good enough."

Biting back the tears this time, I reluctantly brushed passed him, waiting for the only answer that would stop me from going.

Before I was completely passed him though, he seemed to make up his mind about something, and hugged me from behind.

I gasped at the suddenness of his actions as he held me close; strong arms rapped round my waist.

"Okay, you win Kat…" He whispered in my ear,

"Then say it Eddy… Say it out loud for the stars to hear…" I replied, leaning my head back onto his forehead and watching the night sky.

"I love you."

I closed my eyes,

"Then I'll stay…"

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**Okay! Please review and let me know if there's anything wrong, whether it's just a comma out of place, a load of misspellings, or just some friendly advice on how I could continue the story, _anything_ and _everything_ is welcome!**

**Thanks again for reading and I hope you'll stay with me until I finish!!  
**


	3. 2 Nightmares

**Okay, Chapter two!**

**I know I've said this before, but thanks again for staying with me! ;)  
**

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2. Nightmares

I screamed in surprise as I was flung into the air.

Ed caught me bridal style, laughing loudly.

"Oi!" I moaned, "Put me down! Put me down this instance Eddy Elric!" My tone progressed from annoyed to almost hysterical as I struggled against his superior grip while he carried me against my will back up to the house.

I was glad to see Al still standing on the porch still, waiting for us.

"Yo! Al! How you doing?" I greeted from his brothers arms.

The younger boy laughed before replying,

"I'm very well thank you Kat. Sorry for the trouble we caused you, we really did want you to come with us. Honest."

I replied with a sigh and they walked into the house.

Eddy dropped me on the sofa in the front room, laughing at my stunned reaction.

I stood up and brushed myself off,

"Geez Eddy. Can't you be more careful?"

Someone coughed and I looked up to see a man I knew quite well.

We stood to attention, saluting each other before greeting with a handshake and a smile,

"I was wondering where you'd got to Armstrong. Mustang only told me Eddy and Al had left." I smiled at my fellow Lieutenant.

"Yes, well these two seem to be a magnet for trouble, and Edward has only had his new arm a few hours." He told me with his usual smile.

"Um, you two know each other?" Winry asked dumbly.

"Well yeah." I turned to her, "I've been stationed at Central for quite a while now. I think I've had long enough to get to know nearly everyone there." I looked around to see that Auntie wasn't in the room.

"She's finishing dinner." Ed told me before I could ask.

"_She_ has finished cooking dinner, so come on you lot, let's get something down you before you tell us about your travels." Auntie smiled at us all from the doorway before turning around and leading the way into the kitchen, where there were six places set out at the table.

"That's one of things I miss about you Auntie, you're the best cook I know." I grinned as I took up the seat next to Winry, opposite Armstrong.

"Here, here!" Al grinned too, eagerly sitting down on the other side of Winry, opposite his brother.

After dinner we talked long into the night about what we'd all been up to since the last time any of us saw each other, though I could tell Ed and Al weren't telling us everything, especially since I wasn't either. I was surprised, though, to hear the amount of trouble my old friends had gotten into the last four years.

I sighed,

"You two never cease to amaze me." I smiled thinly, knowing it didn't reach my eyes "Even though you've still got one of your arms, Ed, you still end up worse off than I've ever been." I stared at my hands as I spoke.

"A… About that, Kat-" but I cut Ed off by standing up and grabbing my bag.

"Well." I announced, "I've had a long day and I'd like to get some sleep. I'll see you all in the morning." After flashing another smile round the room without making eye contact with any of them, I strode out of the room and upstairs.

"I don't know _why_ he bothers!" I threw my bag down onto the floor next to one of the beds and took out my Pj's.

Getting dressed in mere seconds, I climbed into bed and lay my head on the pillow.

I soon heard voices drifting up the stairs, fast approaching, so I turned on my side, facing away from the door, and closed my eyes.

"Brother, think about it, what was the only thing that made her stay earlier?" I heard Al say,

"I know, I know, but not now…" Ed whispered back as he opened the door, stopping in the doorway.

He muttered something to his little brother, and the two of them entered quietly, one stopping to sit on a nearby bed, the other coming all the way to sit on the edge of my own.

Ed sighed,

"I'm sorry Katlin…" I felt him brush the hair out of my face, and he sighed again.

"Why don't you just ask her?" Al asked.

"I can't. I don't know what it is that's stopping me, but I can't right now." Ed muttered.

I sighed heavily, turning onto my front and put my hand on top of Ed's. It had been next to my face, I realized, close enough for me to make it look like I was just turning over in my sleep.

Ed stiffened at my sudden movement.

"I think we'd better be quiet now. I _really_ don't want to wake her up." Ed whispered lightly.

Ed didn't move until after I'd started to relax and had turned over again, which was when he stood up slowly and walked off to a bed across the room. Only then did I allow myself to sleep.

I didn't, however, sleep soundly.

I had the same dream that I always had.

Flashes of the past flickered through my mind over and over.

Lights of the brightest blue, gold, red and white…

Ed and Al…

Screaming, shouting.

Me…

Screaming, shouting.

Total darkness and even more screaming.

Two, piercing lights.

Two eyes reflecting the fading light of a transmutation.

Two eyes reflecting the fading light of a _failed_ transmutation.

The darkness gave way to light and I saw nothing but a white mist.

A white mist slowly lifting to show the holder of these eyes that wouldn't stop staring at me.

A white mist slowly lifting to reveal a failed, _human_, transmutation.

Screams pierced the cold night air and my eyes opened wide. Tears were streaming down my face, and I was being held down by someone as my screams faded into sobs.

Once I'd reverted to simply crying, Eddy relaxed his grip on my shoulders, though I found myself gripping him even closer. I pulled myself up into a sitting position and sobbed quietly into his chest, unable to get that last image out of my head.

When I finally calmed down, I looked up at Ed, who was watching me, and sniffed, letting him know I'd done crying. I glanced around to see everyone gathered round, and sitting on, the end of my bed.

"Are you alright now, Kat." Al asked carefully.

I nodded, "Sorry for the trouble guys, it was just a nightmare…" I muttered.

Pictures of Al being dragged away, little black hands winding round my arms, and the failed transmutation flashed through my mind again, and I stiffened as a cold draft caught me off guard.

"You sure? You're a lot paler than normal." Winry pointed out.

"Yeah." My voice almost broke, and I noticed that I was shaking, though it was only the after shock of the nightmare catching up with me.

"Go back to bed everyone, me and Al will take care of her." Ed said, and by the tone of his voice and the look on Al's face, I knew they knew what I'd been dreaming.

"Just be careful," Auntie said, nodding, "You know she's never been as strong as you two."

She followed Winry and Armstrong out of the room, closing the door securely behind her as se left.

Ed sighed and put his arms back round me, seeing as I hadn't loosened my grip on him in the slightest.

"Guys… I'm scared." I whispered, leaning my head back on Ed chest as Al sat down on the edge of the bed, next to his brother.

"Of what?" Ed looked at me as tears sprung to my eyes again.

"Those eyes Eddy. Those eyes I saw eight years ago. They've never left me alone. Every time, after a hard day, I have the same dream, just to wake up screaming every single time. I just can't take it any more. It's starting to show in my work… I knew there was another reason why Mustang sent me on an early leave this year…" I buried my face in Ed's top as the tears started again.

The next morning I got dressed and walked downstairs to find Auntie and Armstrong sat in the kitchen talking quietly.

"Morning." I yawned as I poured myself a cup of tea. Leaning back on the counter as I drank it.

"Good morning Lieutenant" Armstrong smiled, going to salute.

"No, no, not here Armstrong, please." I yawned again before carrying on, "here I'm just a normal kid that knows Alchemy."

"Ah, of course. Should've known you'd say that." He smiled again.

I nodded sleepily, drinking my tea in silence as I heard footsteps on the stairs, and Al and Winry joined us in the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, Ed walked into the room, still half asleep, though the rest of us were wide awake by now..

"Morning everyone." He droned, almost falling into the seat next to me.

"Good Afternoon Eddy!" I smiled sarcastically.

"Har. Har." He yawned, "Just because I stayed up with you all last night doesn't give you a license to make fun of me."

"Yes it does." I pouted.

He laughed lightly and lent his head on my shoulder, closing his eyes.

"Oi! Don't fall asleep on me!" I snapped, poking him until he slapped my hand away and sat up properly again, glaring daggers at me.

I grinned back and everyone else sweat dropped.

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**Chapter three should be up by the end of the week, so don't forget to review please!!**


	4. 3 Rememberance

**Double whammy for you today! I'll be uploading the next chapter soon after this one, and I have to say, after being banned off the computer because my grades went down, I made good progress finishing Chapter 4.**

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**3. Remembrance**

After finally getting round to having breakfast, I noticed Ed grabbing his red coat and opening the front door.

"Kat, do you want to come with us?" He asked as Al appeared by his side.

I sighed,

"To see Trisha?" I averted my gaze,

"I-if you don't want to, t-then you don't have to come, I-I'm not gonna…" He stopped and looked at me as I smiled, hoping he wouldn't see through it,

"I'm fine Eddy, I'll come. You don't have to worry so much, okay?"

"Y- yeah."

I grabbed my own jacket and joined them as they walked out of the door and up towards the hill, and the remains of the Elric household.

We stopped where the front door used to be, and remembered when we all used to run home for tea, just as the sun was setting behind us.

I circled the house on my own, being careful of the few crumbling walls that were still standing. About half an hour later, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"You coming to the hill?" Ed asked as I turned to face the two brothers stood behind me.

I nodded silently.

Walking away from Auntie's house again, we came to the top of the hill, where the now past members of the Elric, Penningham, Jelsy and Rockwell families were laid.

I stopped a few paces behind the boys and clapped my hands together, placing them on a nearby stone.

It glowed blue as I transmuted it into a white Narcissus.

I picked it up carefully and carried the stone flower to the most recent headstone.

Saying a silent prayer, I placed it with the countless others that had faded grey and grown lichen in bad weather.

Dark clouds started to form over head as I stood next to the two brothers.

After the night before, there was nothing for us to talk about, as we'd said everything we felt we could say, going into as much detail as we could remember.

They had told us about their fight with the Homunculus and about the other side of the gate, where Ed had been before that army of armoured dead people attacked here, our side of the gate, and they told us everything about why Al had gone missing, and about using the uranium bomb to get them both back after a year and a bit.

It had been the trip back that had taken the most out of them though, the little black people had taken Al's leg, and Ed's left arm.

As the silence deepened, it started to rain, and we all put our hoods up.

Ed and Al had the same jackets, I think Al had taken Ed's as his own when Ed crossed through the gate, and by the look of it, Ed had had to get a new one.

I smiled as I turned back to face the horizon.

"What's that for?" Ed asked.

"What's what for?" I asked innocently.

"The smile…" Al told me.

"Oh. That." I faced forward again and smiled wider, thinking about how much I missed this.

"Yes. That." Ed growled, getting a bit more than 'slightly' annoyed with my simple, question dodging answers.

"I was thinking…" I muttered, smiling slightly, "I was just thinking is all…" I trailed off, my smile fading as a warm rain drop trickled down my face, joining the river of cold ones as I turned my face to the clouds and closed my eyes.

More warm drops joined the rest as we stood in silence once more.

It was cold, and after a while I started shivering.

"Kat…" I looked back down to my height again, looking at Al who had moved to my right, "We should go back. Before it gets any worse." He put a hand on my arm for a moment and I nodded, then he headed down the lane again, back to Auntie's house.

I turned to Ed and tugged his sleeve, motioning for him to come with us as well.

When we got back we were shouted at by Auntie for trekking mud into the house.

After putting our shoes back out onto the porch, we were told to clean it up or sit outside in the freezing cold, without changing out of our clinging wet clothes.

I grumbled at how it was child labour as I mopped up the muddy footprints and pools of water, before racing Ed and Al upstairs once we'd finished as few minutes later.

My clothes lay in a wet heap beside my bed as I pulled on a clean top and some trousers.

The door opened as I was putting some thick socks on.

Al came over and plonked a basket next to my clothes, putting them in with his and Ed's wet stuff.

"Thanks." I smiled.

He just smiled back and quickly walked out of the room.

"You alright?" Ed asked, walking over as I turned to my bedside table to do my hair.

"Yeah, I'm just glad you got him back… I really missed that smile of his." I replied after a minute, turning to the older boy founding him a little closer than I expected.

I could feel the warmth of his breath on my face, and I surprised us both by leaning forward and resting my forehead on his shoulder.

I felt him smile after a moment and he rapped his arms round me as I hugged him as close as I could, breathing in his scent.

"Thank you, Edward…" I struggled to speak as I choked on my tears,

"Huh?" He looked down at me in surprise,

"Thank you…" I repeated, squeezing him, savouring the moment, "thank you for coming back. I… I don't care that you left me behind twice… J-just that you came back… s-so thanks. Thanks E… Ed-"

We stood in silence for so long I lost track of time, and I didn't want to let go just yet, not until he replied in some way.

I was also scared to see what his reaction was, thinking it would've been something other than the one I got.

"Yeah." He finally whispered, "I know, I'm sorry about that…" He tightened his grip slightly, "… I promise…" He leant forward and rested his head on my shoulder, "I promise… I'll never leave you like that ever again… Katlin, you don't realise how much I regret doing that"

I smiled at his words and we stood in silence once more, until the door opened slightly,

"Dinners ready guys…" Al said attentively, obviously aware he'd walked in on something.

He waited a moment, then shut the door again and ran down stairs. Fortunately we didn't hear anyone speaking when he got down there, so we were safe to stay like this for a few more seconds.

I sighed and wiped my tears away with Ed's shoulder.

"Oi! Don't wipe them on me!" He shouted, jumping away.

I just laughed at him, before sighing again,

"Come on, I'm hungry."

I yawned as we walked out of the room together.

"…And tired…" Ed laughed.

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**Okay, tis is when it starts getting complicated for me :P I have to try and figure out what to do for Chapter 5 now...**


	5. 4 A Break From Routine

**I've finished school for the year now so I'll be able to update quite frequently.**

**If you can't remember what happened last time, go back and reread!!  
**

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**4. A Break From Routine**

Over the next few days everything went back to how it used to be, Armstrong left later that day, saying he'd only get in the way now Ed had his arm back and I'd arrived, so he left to spend the rest of the week at his home in Central.

Soon after we fell into a routine similar to the one that made life like before Ed and Al left to become state Alchemists.

Then someone came knocking on the door in the middle of the storm that had been raging for most of the time since we'd gone up to the Elric house.

"Are Edward and Alphonse Elric here ma'am? We need help with the dam." The kid they'd sent down was stood on the doorstep shivering, a lantern in his hand and a cap on his head.

"Get inside and get warm, I'll get the guys." I told him.

"No ma'am, I'm needed back at the river." He insisted.

The look on his face convinced me, and I called the guys.

"You come as well Kat, we'll need the help." Ed said, throwing me my coat.

"Make sure you don't get caught up in the flow, I want you all back here by the time it lets up!" Auntie called from the doorway as we ran down the lane towards the town.

"How bad is it?" I asked the kid as we entered the edge of the town and started down hill.

"Bad…" He replied simply, pointing down to the flooded streets that lay below.

As we made our way through the streets, I looked round to see people stood at the windows of the two story buildings, staying clear of the hazardous waters that were slowly creeping higher and higher up the walls of the houses and shops.

Then, two or three minutes after leaving the edge of the houses, we arrived at the broken banks of the river.

There were a lot of people here, trying their best to keep the water from entering the town a few yards behind us, but when we arrived, the boy ran ahead and called to his father that we'd come.

Without speaking to any of the villagers, I split up from the guys and headed up river a bit. As far as I could see through the pouring rain, Al had stayed where the villagers were, and Ed had gone down river.

Al looked to me and I nodded, clapping my hands, he nodded back and turned to his brother, clapping his hands together as he nodded again.

We timed it as closely as we could, meaning we could transmute a lot more than if we'd acted on our own.

A great wall of mud rose above us where the rivers bank used to be, and a ditch was formed between our hands and the wall, into which the water that had already escaped the river started to flow.

The wall was battered from the other side as I was standing straight, and it visibly shook, so I clapped my hands together again and slid down into the ditch of knee high water. It would be easier to work from here.

Placing my hands on both sides of the ditch, I not only thickened the existing wall, but created another one in the place I'd just been stood. This wall was half the size of the first and almost as thick, extending from a few yards behind me, all the way to where Al was stood, watching me.

Of course, the rule of equal exchange had to be taken into consideration, and the ditch became a hole, in which the villagers thought I was stuck in.

Running to where the second wall ended and the hole stopped, I repeated what I'd just done until I reached Ed. Retracing my steps until I was back where the villagers were, I clapped my hands together for the final time, placing them on the outer wall, creating a ladder of solid mud.

Grabbing hold of the first rung, I started to climb, but there was a loud crack from behind me, though I doubted anyone but myself could hear it.

"Edward!!" I yelled, staring behind me as a crack appeared in our work. I was frozen to the spot as I tried to decide whether to fix it or get out of the hole, "The wall's-" As I spoke the second time, the crack became a leak, and I cursed, leaping down from the ladder to fix it.

I'd been too late in making up my mind.

"What?!" I heard Ed yell down to me from the top of the outer wall, having created a ladder of his own.

He spotted the leak immediately, and that I had my hands on the wall.

"What's wrong Kat?!" He almost screamed, trying to make himself heard over the roar of water and crash of lightening.

Speaking of water, the levels in the hole had risen to thigh high, but the crack wasn't being fixed.

I gave up after a minute and waded to my ladder, climbing as quickly as I could.

"It won't close!" I told my friend when I reached him, shivering from the icy rain.

"Move over!" He commanded, climbing over the wall, sliding down the inside of the wall to land in the muddy water below.

I stayed where I was, staying in sight of the others.

Al got worried and joined me at the top of the wall.

"What's going on?!" He asked, peering down at his elder brother.

"The crack won't close!" I replied, watching as Edward struggled with it, "I think the force of the water's too great for a simple transmutation." I concluded as Ed shook his head and gave up, almost running up the ladder to join us, though his progress was greatly hindered by the waist high level of water.

"Al, get everyone back into the village, get them into the furthest houses possible, then come back here, okay?" Ed demanded when he reached us again.

Al agreed, albeit reluctantly, and left us to fulfil his part.

"Right, we need to block the flow of water, before the hole gets any bigger." Ed sighed, and we dropped to the bottom of the hole.

The amount of water had risen in that small space of time, and it was almost to my chest, meaning the crack would be below the surface of the water on a few seconds if we didn't act quickly.

Then I had an idea,

"Why don't we use ice?!" I suggested, "it's cold enough for it to hold until morning at least!"

Ed nodded, not wasting any breath on words.

Clapping our hands together, we placed them in the water, making it harder, and spreading it up both of the walls so the water level went down to our thighs.

Once we'd finished, we stepped back and watched the place where the crack had been.

The wall shook again.

And again.

And then it was still.

So, happy with our work, we turned and strode to the outer wall, creating another, wider ladder of ice and mud for us to climb.

We were about half way up, almost shoulder to shoulder, when the sky was lit up by several forks of lightening, and the sound of thunder crashed around my head, forcing me to stop, for it caused me to lose the concentration to climb.

And that's when it hit me.

Literally.

The force of the freezing water on my back pressed me into the ice, breaking all of the rungs around me

It felt like I was being battered, and I couldn't breath until it was over.

But when it _was_ over, I took one ragged breath and screamed, falling backwards to the water below.

I didn't see where Edward was. He could've been at the top of the wall by now; he _had_ carried on ahead of me. Or he could already be _in_ the water, because it _had_ hit above me first.

I never got time to find out, because almost as soon as I started screaming, I hit the quickly rising water and started to sink.

Lashing out with my arms, I tried to swim back to the surface, but the force of the water was too much, and a part of the wall collapsed above me.

I couldn't get out of the way quick enough, and even though it was broken up, and the mud was starting to soften, there was still a lot of ice, which hit me as I tried to get out of the way.

Pushing it off, I scraped my hand, almost tearing it completely open, and I exhaled because of the sudden pain.

Very. Very. Bad idea.

Now all of my air was gone, and I could tell that it would be impossible for me to swim to the surface, especially wearing the amount of heavy clothing that was definitely more hassle than it's worth trying to remove it all in my situation.

So.

I was out of air.

Out of options.

And out of strength.

I tried to struggle against the heavy water that was dragging me down closer and closer to the bottom, but it was all to no avail and a simple waste of strength.

I couldn't breath in, because all I'd be doing was drowning myself.

Not breathing in would mean I'd suffocate myself.

So I carried on struggling as much as I could, even though all of my strength had been reduced to nothing by now.

It was on the stupid whim of my reflexes, of my want to survive that made me try to breathe in again, only succeeding in filling my lungs with the acrid water that surrounded me.

My vision was blurred, and I was only just aware of sinking through the muddy water.

Everything went black for a second, and the next thing I knew I was staring up through clear water.

I could see Ed too, though that was just my imagination. Ed hadn't heard the wall collapse, he hadn't heard the roar of water as it hit me, and my brief scream as I fell.

Surely the clear water above me, and the warmth of its embrace was enough proof of my death.

The last image that flashed through my mind was of the night before, when I was sat between Winry and Auntie, opposite Edward and Alphonse. We were laughing at Ed's joke, and even now that memory brought a smile to my face.

I only had one regret from my life, but that was forgotten as I hit the bottom of the hole and the darkness consumed me.

* * *

**OMG! I had field trip writing this!! Scary cliff-hanger though :/**

**Don't forget to R+R!!  
**


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